Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

The global cruise capacity is forecast to grow 19 per cent to more than 746,000 lower berths leading up to 2028, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) said in its recent report ‘State Of The Cruise Industry 2023’. The task of attracting four million new-to-cruise travellers now lies with the industry to meet the increase in global cruise capacity projected from 2023 to 2025. At least 14 new member ships will enter service during 2023 itself and projected to exceed 300 ocean-going vessels in 2024.

Global international scheduled seat capacity on offer for the week to 19-Jun-2023 reached 59.9 million seats. Capacity reached a new pandemic era high (97.6% of 2019 volumes).

Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, Sultanate of Oman, is organising an exclusive webinar to help attendees learn more about the beautiful city of Salalah in Oman, today at 11:30 am. Register to get a chance to win a free trip to Oman. Contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com, 9650196532.

Minister of State for Tourism & Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Shripad Yesso Naik held a bilateral meeting with Md. Mahbub Ali, State Minister for Civil Aviation & Tourism. It stressed on the deep cultural bond between the two nations. It also outlined the major infrastructure initiatives which have been taken by respective governments. The discussions stressed the possibility of further collaboration on tourism via inland rivers, and visa facilities to facilitate long-haul travel for visitors.

SpiceJet has signed an interline agreement with Hahn Air. Since 2016, SpiceJet has already been available under Hahn Air’s H1 code in all major GDSs. With the new interline agreement, the airline will be additionally available under their own SG code in the Amadeus GDS. Travel agents around the world can issue SpiceJet flights on the insolvency-safe HR-169 ticket by choosing Hahn Air as the validating carrier. In addition, travel agents using Amadeus GDS can combine SpiceJet’s flights with other Hahn Air partners’ flights on a single ticket. “We are proud to extend our partnership with SpiceJet”, says Kimberley Long, Vice President Agency Distribution at Hahn Air. “By providing a wealth of destinations and excellent service, this award-winning airline is very popular with travellers. We are excited to now give the travel agent community various options to easily access this carrier, even in markets where SpiceJet does not grant ticketing authority for SG or where the airline is not a member of the local BSP or ARC.” Shilpa Bhatia, Chief Commercial Officer, SpiceJet, said, “We are delighted to partner with Hahn Air for distribution of our flights to over 190 markets that will help international passengers to seamlessly travel across various parts of India with ease and beyond. The interline agreement with Hahn Air and the strong distribution network of 350 airlines will positively benefit SpiceJet to increase its global reach under its own SG code.”

V Vidyavathi, Secretary, Tourism, has said that the five pillars/priorities of G20 TWG meeting and the Goa Roadmap have emerged from the draft National Tourism Policy prepared by MOT. “They were quite comprehensive and appreciated by all,” she said. She shared the policy will soon see light of the day.

SpiceJet recently signed an interline deal with Hahn Air. Since 2016, SpiceJet has already been available under Hahn Air’s H1 code in all major Global Distribution Systems . Due to the new interline agreement, the airline will be additionally available under their own SG code in the Amadeus GDS. Travel agents around the world can issue SpiceJet flights on the insolvency-safe HR-169 ticket by choosing Hahn Air as the validating carrier. In addition, travel agents using the Amadeus GDS can combine SpiceJet’s flights with other Hahn Air partners’ flights on one single ticket. SpiceJet is an Indian low-cost airline headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana. The airline serves various destinations in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. In 2022, SpiceJet earned several accolades, including Safety Performer of the Year by DIAL and Wings India Aviation Innovation Award 2022. Most recently, SpiceJet received the Bronze Stevie® Award for Customer Service Department of the Year. SpiceJet’s fleet comprises of 27 Boeing and eight DHC Q400 aircraft. Kimberley Long, Vice President Agency Distribution at Hahn Air said, “We are proud to increase our partnership with SpiceJet”. “By providing a wealth of destinations and excellent service, this award-winning airline is very popular with travellers. We are pleased to now offer the travel agency community several options for easy access to this airline. even in markets where SpiceJet does not grant ticketing authority for SG or where the airline is not a member of the local BSP or ARC.” Shilpa Bhatia, Chief Commercial Officer, SpiceJet, said, “We are glad to partner with Hahn Air for distribution of our flights to over 190 markets that will help international passengers to seamlessly travel across various parts of India with ease and beyond. The interline agreement with Hahn Air and the strong distribution network of …

Kumar Pushkar, APCCF (Wildlife) has extended insurance benefits to travelers going to Karnataka amidst risky factors. He expressed concern about safety, “We are going to collaborate with insurance agencies to provide insurance across all eco-tourism places”.

Julia Simpson, President, World Travel and Tourism Council, emphasized on need of smart visas. “Paper visas is thing of past. India is moving quickly in the e-visas space but it can move faster towards smart QR coded visas like Dubai,” she said.

Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary General, UNWTO said, “We must ensure recovery of tourism to be sustainable, inclusive and resilient. Goa Roadmap for Tourism to work as channel for achieving SDGs & offering G20 economies proposed plan leading towards better future.”